"Eddie suggested that if the ICBM missiles could theoretically be stolen over the mid-Atlantic, it would be vastly less difficult to steal an X-15 over the Mojave Desert!"
As the two Air Force men digested this statement, along with the indisputable fact that an X-15 had disappeared, John O'Hara Smith blandly informed them:
"Incidentally, gentlemen, you'll have to get Eddie's duplicate tapes for me."
Busch reddened, and could not resist asking:
"Including those short-wave broadcasts from Moscow Radio?"
"Naturally!" Dr. Smith snapped. "I'm sure Eddie extracts a great deal of useful information from them!"
This second interrogation, like the previous one in the hospital, ended on a triumphant note for the exasperating Dr. Smith. When they were alone, General Sanders turned to Busch and sighed:
"We've got a double security problem, Amos! If word of this deal with Smith gets back to Washington, I'll be laughed right out of the service!"
But the General didn't begin to grasp the full implications of his predicament until the afternoon of Oct. 7, when Dr. Smith phoned to say Eddie was completed.
"Good," grunted the General. "Get going, then!"